Today's Verse: Acts 11:18

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Your Support Matters!

Your donations are vital to help us keep the light shining.

Donate Now
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."
— Acts 11:18
Now you can listen to Today's Verse on iTunes, Spotify, Echo devices, and more!

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Breaking through racial and cultural barriers is never easy, but this was the challenge early church leaders faced when the Holy Spirit led Peter to share the gospel with Cornelius and his household, and they became disciples of Jesus. The Jewish disciples had not anticipated Gentiles to come into Jesus' church. Thankfully, God's Spirit didn't let them settle comfortably into their prejudices. Instead, the Spirit challenged, led, and pushed them to break through racial hatred and cultural ignorance. So must we, today. Let's be the kind of people, Jesus' people, who rejoice and praise God as every racial barrier dividing people fall in Jesus. Let's press on until the triumphant promise of the Gospel is fulfilled: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28). In doing this, we anticipate the incredible chorus of heaven as it praises God with folks from every language, tribe, people, and nation (Revelation 7:9-11). God longs to invite all peoples of the earth into his family of grace, love, and life!

My Prayer...

Holy God, we ask that you bless all those everywhere who are trying to cross cultural, linguistic, and nationalistic barriers sharing the grace of Jesus with those who do not know you. Help them know they are bringing you joy and anticipating the praise that surrounds you in glory! In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Comments

Archived Facebook Comments

Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Sunday, November 18, 2012

A daily guide from the gospels that challenges readers to live for Jesus.
"[When Jesus said, "I Am,"] the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, "Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his..."
A daily devotional about God's power for our battles.
"Then I turned to the Lord God and prayed and asked him for help. To show my sadness, I fasted, put on rough cloth, and sat in ashes. I prayed to the....."
A one-year devotional guide through the book of Acts.
"After two years went by [with Felix having frequent discussions with Paul], Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And because Felix wanted to gain....."
A daily passage of Scripture emphasizing praise to our God.
"For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our....."

Illustration

Illustration of Acts 11:18 — When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."

About This Devotional

Today's Verse is a free daily devotional that includes a Bible verse, thought and prayer.

The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.